CHAPTER 36

 Out near the riverside end of the park the two cars stopped abreast¹ under a vast live-oak, and Aline, rising, opened the letter and read aloud:

 

 

MY DEAR MR. CHESTER:

 

Your manuscript, "The Holy Cross," accompanied by your letter of the -- inst., is received and will have our early attention.

 

Very respectfully,

 

THE EDITOR.

 

 

All other outcries ceased half-uttered when the Chapdelaine sisters clapped hands for joy, crying:

 

"Agcepted! Agcepted! Ah, Aline! by that kindnezz and sag-acitie of Mr. Chezter--and all the rez' of our Royal Street frien'--you are biccome the diz-ting-uish' and lucrative² authorezz, Mlle. Chapdelaine!"

 

M. De l'Isle's wrath³ was too hot for his tongue, but Scipion stood waiting to speak, and Mme. Castanado beckoned⁴ attention and spoke⁵ his name.

 

"Messieurs et mesdames" he said, "that manuscrip' is no mo' agcept' than rij-ect'. That stadement, tha'z only to rilease those insuranze companie' and----"

 

"And to stop us from telegraphing!" M. De l'Isle broke in, "and to make us, ad the end, glad to get even a small price! Ah, mesdemoiselles, you don't know those razcal' like me!"

 

"Oh!" cried the tender Yvonne--original rescuer of Marie Madeleine from boy lynchers--"you don't have charitie! That way you make yo'seff un'appie."

 

"Me, I cann' think," her sister persevered⁶, "that tha'z juz' for the insuranse. The manuscrip' is receive'? Well! 'ow can you receive something if you don't agcept it? And 'ow can you agcep' that if you don' receive it? Ah-h-h!"

 

"No," Beloiseau rejoined, "tha'z only to signify that the editorial decision--tha'z not decide'."

 

Mlle. Corinne lifted both hands to the entire jury: "Oh, frien', I assure you, that manuscrip' is agcept'. And tha'z the proof; that both Yvonne and me we've had a presentiment⁷ of that already sinze the biggening! Ah-h-h!"

 

Castanado intervened: "Mademoiselle, that lady yonder"--he gave his wife a courtier's bow--"will tell you a differenze. Once on a time she receive' a h-offer of marriage; but 'twas not till after many days thad she agcept' it." [Applause.] "But ad the en', I su'pose tha'z for Mr. Chezter, our legal counsel, to conclude."

 

Mr. Chester "thought that although receipt did not imply acceptance the tardiness⁸ of this letter did argue a probability that the manuscript had successfully passed some sort of preliminary reading--or readings--and now awaited only the verdict of the editor-in-chief."

 

"Or," ventured Mme. Alexandre, "of that editorial board all together."

 

M. De l'Isle shook his head and then a stiff finger: "I tell you! They are sicretly inquiring Thorndyke-Smith--lit'ry magnet--to fine out if we are truz'-worthy! And tha'z the miztake we did---not sen'ing the photograph of Mlle. Aline ad the biggening. But tha'z not yet too late; we can wire them from firz' drug-store, 'Suspen' judgment⁹! Portrait of authorezz coming!'"

 

All eyes, even Cupid's, turned to her. She was shaking her head. "No," she responded, with a smile as lovely, to Chester's fancy, as it was final; as final, to the two aunts' conviction, as it was lovely.

 

"No photograph would be convincing," Chester began to plead, but stopped for the aunts.

 

"Oh, impossible!" they cried. "That wou'n' be de-corouz!"

 

"Ladies an' gentlemen," said M. Castanado, "we are on a joy-ride."

 

"An' we 'ave reason!" his wife exclaimed.

 

"Biccause hope!" Mme. Alexandre put in.

 

"Yes!" said Dubroca. "That manuscrip' is not allone receive'; sinze more than a week 'tis rittain', whiles they dillib-rate; and the chateau¹⁰ what dillib-rate'--you know, eh? M'sieu' De l'Isle, I move you we go h-on."

 

They went, the De l'Isle car and then Scipion's, back to St. Charles Avenue, and turned again up-town. On the rearmost seat----

 

"Why so silent?" Aline inquired of Chester.

 

"Because so content," he said, "except when I think of the book."

 

"The half-book?"

 

"Exactly. We've only half enough stories yet.

 

"Though with the vieux carré full of them?"

 

"Oh! mostly so raw, so bald, so thin!"

 

"Ah, I knew you would see that. As though human life and character were--what would say?"

 

"I'd say crustacean¹¹; their anatomy¹² all on the surface. Such stories are not life, life in the round; they're only paper silhouettes--of the real life's poorest facts and moments. I state the thought poorly but you get it, don't you?"

 

The girl sparkled, not so much for the thought as for their fellowship in it. "Once I heard mamma say to my aunts: 'So many of these vieux carré stories are but pretty pebbles--a quadroon and a duel¹³, a quadroon and a duel--always the same two peas in the baby's rattle¹⁴.'"

 

"There are better stories for a little deeper search," Chester said.

 

"Ah, she said that too! 'And not,' she said, 'because the vieux carré is unlike, but so like the rest of the world.'"

 

Thus they spoke, happily--even a bit recklessly--conscious that they were themselves a beautiful story without the flash of a sword or the cloud of a misdeed in range of their sight, and not because the vieux carré was unlike, but so like the rest of the world.

 

"Where are we going?" Aline inquired, and tried to look forward around Mme. Castanado.

 

"You and I," Chester said, "are going back to your father's story. You said, the other day, his life was quiet, richer within than without."

 

"Yes. Ah, yes; so that while of the inside I cannot tell half, of the outside there is almost nothing to tell."

 

"All the same, tell it. Were not he and these Royal Street men boys together?"

 

"Yes, though with M. De l'Isle the oldest, and though papa was away from them many years, over there in France. Yes, they were all his friends, as their fathers had been of grandpère. And they'll all tell you the same thing; that he was their hero, while at the same time that his story is destitute¹⁵ of the theatrical¹⁶. Just he himself, he and mamma--they are the whole story."

 

"A sea without a wave?"

 

"Ah, no; yet without a storm. And, Mr. Chester, I think a sea without a storm can be just as deep as with, h'm?"

1 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。

2 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

3 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

4 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

7 presentiment   

n.预感，预觉

参考例句：

• He had a presentiment of disaster.他预感会有灾难降临。
• I have a presentiment that something bad will happen.我有某种不祥事要发生的预感。

8 tardiness   

n.缓慢；迟延；拖拉

参考例句：

• Her teacher gave her extra homework because of her tardiness. 由于她的迟到，老师给她布置了额外的家庭作业。 来自辞典例句
• Someone said that tardiness is the subtlest form of selflove and conceit. 有人说迟到是自私和自负的最微妙的表现形式。 来自辞典例句

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

11 crustacean   

n.甲壳动物；adj.甲壳纲的

参考例句：

• Seafood is a valuable lobster crustacean section.名贵海珍品龙虾属甲壳科。
• The illustrious Cuvier did not perceive that a barnacle was a crustacean.大名鼎鼎的居维叶也未看出藤壶是一种甲壳动物。

12 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

13 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

14 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

15 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

16 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。